For the second cohort of the Atoms program, Accel India has chosen 10 startups

• ByStartupStory     |    November 28, 2022

As part of its second cohort of Atoms, a pre-seed investment programme that was introduced last year, Accel India has chosen 10 startups. “We are aware of the requirements that entrepreneurs have at the outset of their journey. The Atoms (program) was developed to help these founders on their quest to found prosperous businesses.

According to Prayank Swaroop, partner at Accel India, “We have received applications from a diverse group of founders, and the sheer diversity of these companies is a testament to their imagination, creativity, and acumen.

Each startup participating in the Atoms programme will receive $250,000 as base funding in pre-seed rounds in the form of an “uncapped convertible note,” which will only convert to equity in the subsequent round.

Through its two cohorts, Accel Atoms has so far invested $6 million in 23 startups. According to a statement from the VC firm, these companies have received close to $100 million in follow-on and additional funding as a result of the programs.

Accel announced in February that 14 startups had been chosen for its first cohort of the Atoms program. The SaaS, D2C, and B2B industries are the key sources of the 10 businesses chosen by Accel for its second cohort.

Among the businesses are Databrain, a data platform that enables non-technical strategic teams to successfully collect and analyse data, and Brik, a B2B building material-focused startup. Using the DevTool Dhiwise, developers can deliver production-ready source code for all types of apps ten times faster.

The other businesses include Dpanda, which assists in converting platforms into micro-e-commerce sites and makes money from the traffic generated by the platforms; Fishlog, a B2B marketplace that streamlines the seafood supply chain in Indonesia; and Mello, a discovery platform that enables people to find the best experiences nearby.

There are other VCs besides Accel that offer early-stage mentorship programmes. Sequoia Capital introduced Surge in 2019, a programme in which it makes early-stage investments of $1 to $3 million in exchange for ownership while also offering mentorship and contacts.

Accel has been operating in India since 2008, and among the businesses in its investment portfolio are BookMyShow, Browserstack, Flipkart, Freshworks, FalconX, Myntra, Urban Company, Zetwerk, and Zenoti.

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